Second annual Summer Research Celebration highlights RU undergraduate research efforts

Eighteen Radford University undergraduates who conducted research during the summer will present at the second Summer Research Celebration on Wednesday, Sept. 17, from noon to 5 p.m. in the Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium.

Featuring work done this summer by the 2014 class of Undergraduate Research Scholars, the symposium will cover a variety of fields – art, biology, business, chemistry, education, geology, geospatial science, mathematics and psychology.

The Summer Research Celebration is a showcase of the breadth of research possibilities available to RU undergraduates on and off campus, said Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS) Director Joseph Wirgau.

Two keynote presenters will be:

Melissa Brett, a senior majoring in physics and geology, who was part of a team doing glacial physics research on the Juneau Icefield in Alaska and Canada this summer. 4:45-5 p.m.

Dan Metz, the Ecological Society of America's SEEDS Research Fellowship recipient for 2014-15, who studied a novel parasitic disease of shore crabs under the aegis of the University of California at Santa Barbara, 2:15-2:30 p.m.

"The highest levels of learning and teaching that occur on any given campus occur when small teams are tackling big questions where the answers are not known. Research, scholarship and creative works represent a clear path for involvement in these highly engaging quests for new knowledge," said Wirgau.

Wirgau said he is excited to welcome Metz and Brett, 2013 Student Undergraduate Research Fellows, back for a discussion of their most recent academic adventures and to highlight how the program helped the fellowship awardees advance their careers.

Wirgau encouraged all students who are interested in enhancing their academic experience with a summer internship, research or scholarship experience to reach out to a faculty mentor for guidance and to contact the OURS office for assistance.

The 2014 Summer Research Celebration schedule

• Noon - 12:15 p.m. ­- Monica Kaur and Caitlyn Linville "The Effects of Vespa Amino Acid Mixture on Musca domestica"
• 12:15 - 12:30 p.m. - Sarah House "Creating an Online Linear Algebra Course Using Mathematica"
• 12:30 - 12:45 p.m. - Kathryn Self "Exploring Effects of Multiple EDC Exposure"
• 12:45 -1 p.m. - Angel Lambert "A Study of the C84 Isomeric Set"
• 1 - 2 p.m. Posters & Demonstration
  • Keela Dooley "The Plasticity of Sterling Silver: Achieved through Deformation"
  • Anthony Friedman "Investigating Middle and High School Pre-Service and In-Service Teachers Perceptions and Beliefs About Collaboration in Inclusive Classrooms"
  • Matti Hamed "Selu Conservancy’s Herpetofaunal Diversity: Establishing a Long Term Monitoring Program"
  • Analise Roccaforte "The Effects of Dual Alcohol and Nicotine Exposure on Spatial Memory"
• 2:15-2:30 p.m. - Dan Metz "Initial Description and Disease Pathology of an Undescribed Parasitic Protist of California Shore Crabs"
• 2:30-2:45 p.m. - Debra Lustig "Contradictions and Divergence in the Visual Constructions of Charlemagne"
• 2:45-3 p.m. - April Tingle "Are the Antiviral Properties of Pseudomonas Pigments Due to ROS Generation?"
• 3-3:15 p.m. - Christabelle D’Silva "Early Field Experience and Selu"
• 3:15-3:30 p.m. - Emily Guise "Effects of Ecologically Relevant Exposure to Trenbolone"
• 3:30-3:45 p.m. - Emily Cutshall "How do environmental bacteria live in high concentrations of arsenic?"
• 3:45-4 p.m. -  Raymond Boisvert "Net Alpha of Large Cap Funds with Higher Expenses Versus Large Cap Funds with Lower Expenses 2000-2012"
• 4-4:15 p.m. - Nima Hami "The Synthesis and Potential use of Phenazine Derivatives in the Inhibition of the La Crosse Virus"
• 4:15-4:30 p.m. - Josh Oliver "A Tree-Ring Reconstruction of New River Streamflow"
• 4:30-4:45 p.m. - Pat Trout "Assessing Models of Volcanism and Rifting: New Evidence from the Mount Rogers Formation, SWVA"
• 4:45-5 p.m. - Melissa Brett "Juneau Icefield Research Program"

For more on these and other RU student research experiences, visit the Radford University Scholarly Research. Outreach. Engagement. (RU SCORE) Facebook page.